


Wake Up Call

by hrewannabe



Series: A Feeling I've Never Felt Before [6]
Category: Vampire: The Masquerade, World of Darkness (Games)
Genre: Anarchs, Brujah (Vampire: The Masquerade), Death, F/F, Fake Science, LARP, NPC Death, Player characters - Freeform, Sad Romance, star-crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 21:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15542946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hrewannabe/pseuds/hrewannabe
Summary: She’s downstairs in the lab measuring components when she gets the summon





	Wake Up Call

She’s focused. Lab coat on and goggles pulled low, she’s been in the lab since the moon rose over the horizon and she could make her way to the bar. She’s got two vials and she’s carefully pouring one into the other for the newest batch that Lavender had asked for. She loves this. Loves the way that science makes her feel, it makes her feel like she has some degree of control over her life, it explains so many things. Performing science and experiments is exciting, using chemicals even more so. For her tenth year as a kindred Lavender had approved her for night classes for chemistry after ghouling the department head. Nike thinks it was one of the better gifts from their sire. She’s almost got the right amount poured into the vials.

 

A ghoul bursting through the door almost makes her drop one of the vials of liquid in her hand. Nike sighs, refrains from rolling her eyes and turns slowly to look at the ghoul. It’s Samantha, she’s standing just inside the doorway nervously fiddling with the small locket dangling from her neck, eyes on the floor. Nike sets the vials down in their respective holders.

 

“Well? Go on”

 

“Ah, Miss Nike, Baron Lavender told me to retrieve you. They said that they had a surprise for you. You’re to come right away!”

 

Nike waves a dismissive hand at the young ghoul. Turns around to place stoppers in the vials and turn off the burners in the lab. “Tell them I’ll be right up, I’m just closing down my lab.” There’s the sound of boots heading out and the door closing with a soft thud and she’s alone again with her science and her lab. She puts away what she can and then removes her lab coat and goggles. Nike hangs the lab coat up by the door and then walks over to a cabinet, swings open the door and gently places the glasses down inside before closing it and walking out the door. She pauses, looks back at the lab , hits the switch and then locks the door and tucks the key into her bra. Wonders why Lavender is calling her up today.

 

Lavender is leaning across their desk when Nike walks into their office. Pale purple hair pooling onto the dark wood and across papers. They don’t look up and Nike, head high walks forward and stands before the desk waiting to be acknowledged. Doesn’t gaze around the room, only stares straight ahead at Lavender. Lavender makes a note on a paper, doesn’t look up.

 

“Nike, good. I thought you would be here quicker, but oh well.”

 

“I’m sorry Sire, I had to lock up the lab” and her gaze goes to the floor. Disappointment. Lavender, is disappointed in her...again. More and more, they have expressed displeasure and all Nike wants is to make them proud, would gladly kill anyone for their sire. Anything for a sign of acceptance, of pride in her work.

  
“It’s fine” Lavender waves their hand. They look up, pale hair shifting with the movement and Nike is paralyzed by their sire’s gaze. The sharp intensity, she’s seen this look before, she’s receiving a test? What more is there to test her on? Nike meets their eyes, still can’t look away. “Nike it seems your little.. Project hit an unexpected bump.”

 

Nike’s eyes widen and she has to remind herself that she is not a fledgling anymore, she needs to be calm. But her project? Her experiments have been going well, no need to cancel those, how else can she make Lavender proud if not through her chemistry or has she been slacking in regards to-

 

“Becca, has created a disturbance. You said that she would join the state and yet today-” her sire pauses and Nike’s heart is sinking. Feels like she’s falling twelve stories with no one below. She’s heard about this, a rite of passage not a test then. Knows what Lavender is going to ask her to do, and she wants to drop to the floor, feels her knees lock and has to shift just a small amount. Feels like she needs to breathe. She hasn’t seen the aftermath of what Lavender is going to ask, was to young to have existed for half of them, but she’s seen the way Kore will rub at her tattoo when no one is looking, or Selene at her tarot cards, Athena’s eyes softening at the gorgon she wears on her shoulder fingers twisting in her braid. This is the final test. Eros whispers about it with Selene, says it was freeing, the best decision that they had ever made. Artemis had always looked shaken, eyes shifty, but then they would laugh harshly and joke around. Nike wants to look away, needs to look away, but Lavender is right there looking at her and she can’t drop her eyes.

 

“Today your little pet project sneaked in and caused massive trouble for the state, as baron I can not let this stand. If word gets out or someone calls a petty blood hunt or feud the **_whole_** operation _will_ fail. _We_ can’t afford that Nike. As your sire though, you should know of the let downs of love by now.” Lavender tells her and Nike avoids eye contact, but still stares straight ahead, gazes just above her sire’s shoulder. “ Little dove it makes you _weak”_ her sire hisses out. “You know what you must do Nike” and they raise their head up high, regal for all the harsh lines of their face.

 

They beckon her forward and she steps close to the desk and then around. Lavender motions again and Nike kneels onto the ground, wants to cry at the thought of Becca as just a pile of dust, nothing more than ash. Lavender reaches out a hand and presses it to Nike’s check, cold callused fingers on her jawline pulling her face to look into their eyes again. “Little dove, you are a victory rising- and Nike pushes her check into their sire’s hand, taking comfort, and Lavender is pulling their hands away to hand her a small silver stake- killing her is going to bring you back home to us, will allow you to join your siblings on a whole new level.” Nike loosely closes her fingers around the stake and for a moment is startled with how well it fits within her hands, the smoothness of the weapon and the way in which its weight feels. “Nike, sweetheart, Becca is nothing more than a misguided brujah who will only bring you down. Remember _love is a weakness_ none can afford.”  And Lavender is slowly pushing her away and Nike, dazed, stands up and leaves the room. Lavender calling out to her but none of the words register.

 

The door swings close behind her. Her boots sound so loud walking down the hall that’s now devoid of ghouls or other vampires. She feels like she is walking to the gallows, towards a pyre built for her to burn and yet there is a grimness to this newfangled determination to do as her sire has asked her. She wants to make Lavender proud and yet the softness in Becca’s eyes as they walk around downtown Staunton, or that fragile moment out on the balcony in New York all those years ago haunt her steps.

 

Carmen meets her at the door that she hasn’t been allowed in before and unlocks it leading her through it and Nike barely registers the words of the older latina as they make their way down the hall and down a set of stairs. The stake is so cold in her hands. Wonders if the others will accept her after this, this is her final trial. After this she is a true brujah of Lavender’s lineage, all she has to do is...kill Becca.

All she has to do…

All she has…

To do..

Is kill her.

 

Carmen laughs and Nike is drawn back to the moment. “-I wouldn’t worry about that slip of a brujah girl, she would have been a fine addition to the state, but too weak for the likes of us huh!” and she’s unlocking another door leaving Nike outside in the hall. It feels like forever and Nike stares at her feet, tries not to think about the silver stake in her hand and decides to tuck it into the holster on her thigh.  If it wasn’t for her, Nike tries to reason with herself, if it wasn’t for her cute smile or-no and she shakes her head, pushes the thought away. Instead brushes her hands off on her jeans and gazes at the door. Bounces from foot to foot before Carmen is sauntering back out and ushering her in where she is confronted with Becca.

 

Confronted with blonde choppy hair and blue eyes and bars. Carmen makes a few comments that don’t register because all she can do is stare at Becca. Look at how beautiful she is, the way her lips are moving, even in the harsh light of the cells, because that's what they are cells, she’s beautiful.

 

Her stocky girl.

 

Her stocky, beautiful, sweet girl. A hand goes to her holster and she turns to Carmen. “Hey could you, give me a moment?”

 

Carmen gives Nike a sloppy salute and her heels resound out the room “I’ll wait outside, can’t wait to see what you do!” The heavy metal door closes and Nike is left with the other kindred in the cages and Becca.

“Nike, what’s going on?” asks Becca, bright blue eyes staring right into what’s left of her soul. Her fingers loosen on the stake. “Nike? She was talking about some kind of test, hey? What’d she mean?”

 

There's a pause. “Lavender isn’t happy with how things are going. I’m to weak, love makes you weak, and I can’t afford that. I want to make Lavender so proud!” she does she really truely does, she had always been honest with Becca. “I’m being honest Becca, trust me. I don’t want to do this.”

 

“What do you mean?” Becca is pressed flush to the cage bars, and Nike can’t even focus on what the other vampires are clamoring to say.

 

Nike shifts her gaze away, doesn’t want to look at Becca, with her hands around the cage bars, doesn’t want to think about the stake in the holster on her thigh. Tries to wrestle with the idea of actually killing the blonde. She had been ready. On the walk down here she had been prepared to watch those blue eyes turn to dust, but…And her eyes peek up from under heavy lashes, she can’t, those blue eyes deserve to keep on seeing the world, seeing the stars and learning. Becca doesn’t deserve to be an end to something, should only be the start and her resolve weakens.

 

“I- look lavender wants me to kill you” and there’s a sharp inhale of breath from the teenager to the cell on the right of Becca. She doesn’t turn to look at the girl in the cell just looks into Becca’s eyes. “It's a trial, its protection, I just, I can’t explain it to you” she shakes her head, feels her ponytail bob with the movement.

 

“What do you mean? Look Nike, hey, you- you don’t have to kill us. We can figure this out. We’re in this together” and those blue eyes are so honest, so bright. Becca holds the whole universe in her heart and Nike is going to have to rip that out.

 

“I don’t want to though” Nike cries hands reaching out to gently clutch at Becca’s hands and watches the way that her hands recoil from hers as if she’d been burned. Feels red hot tears start to steak down her face and has the irrational thought that it's such a waste of blood to cry. “I don’t want to and I don’t understand whats so wrong with me!” and she wants to slide to the floor in this moment of weakness, but her knees are strong. “I, I can’t” and a hand is rubbing at her face and smearing blood red tears across her cheeks.

 

“Nike, I-”

 

“Look, I- I can do you one better than just leaving you the keys” and Nike is stepping forward and cutting through the ziptie with her pocket knife, unlocking the cuffs on Becca. She steps back from Becca and her bright blue eyes.”Give me, give me 15 minutes and then run. Don’t stop okay!”

 

“Nike, what are you? What are you going to do” Becca asks stepping towards her worry sounding loud and clear.

 

In that moment she can’t hold herself back, had done so well. Had never surrendered to this one feeling, had allowed brief touches, but Nike can’t stand the thought of never getting to do this action ever. Can’t stand the thought because she knows that after she helps them she’s a dead woman. Knows that Lavender is going to hunt her down and set the other childer after her until she is wiped off the earth’s crust, until her dust doesn’t even exist. She gets as close as she can to Becca and leans in for the softest, gentlest kiss in her life. It’s soft lips, and Nike reaches up for a brief moment to tangles fingers in hair before withdrawing. Want’s to go back in, but can’t she’s on a timeline, has to work quickly. Still wants to lean back in and devour Becca whole, Nike leans back, hands retreating, catches the look in Becca’s eyes and her heart aches, doesn’t want to leave because as soon as she does she’ll be a ghost.

 

“I love you Becca, if nothing else...remember that” and she’s out the door.

 

Carmen is there waiting. Smile wide on her face, and Nike tries not to look at their face. Tries not to think of what will come next. Carmen goes to speak and Nike is driving a stake through Carmen’s heart and Carmen is ripping at her arms, long nails tearing through soft flesh. Nike is shoving a hand at Carmen, doesn’t want her to scream, doesn’t know how thick the walls are or if sound carries. Carmen is sinking fangs down into her arm and Nike is grabbing her neck , hands sliding around her throat and there is some part in Nike that recieves a thrill at this. Some part of her has always held the beast close, and it reveals in the carnage she's creating in the moment. Knows that her beast, this darkness lurking just under her skin, hiding in her false humanity would have loved killing Becca. The thought of killing Becca has her hand squeezing even tighter around Carmen's throat, a hand moves to the woman's head, another pushing on the shoulder and she's pushing the head to turn.

 

The bones pop.

 

There’s the sound that always accompanies the sound of a vampire turning to dust. The soft sound of ash falling to the floor and Nike is crying harder, blood streaming down her cheeks. She had liked Carmen, Carmen had just been another cog in Lavender’s rise, to the work in their state and now she’s nothing more than a pile of ash and red heels. Nike leaves herself a brief moment of regret, of sadness and then she’s running. She has to give them a path to outside, has to be a distraction. Has to give Becca the best chance for escape. This is all for nothing if her girl dies, if Becca dies.

 

If she makes out alive, she won’t be able to see her ever again.

It would be too dangerous.

She’s a deadman.

But only if she makes it.


End file.
